Mani Ellis & Layne Accident & Injury Lawyers | May 15, 2025 | Personal Injury
Blunt force trauma to the head isn’t always immediately obvious. Sometimes, the injury is visible from the outside, but just as often, the damage is internal and much more difficult to recognize. It’s easy to expect such trauma after a car accident or work injury, yet even a simple fall can cause serious trauma to the brain.
What Is Blunt Force Trauma?
Blunt force trauma happens when the head takes a hit from something solid. Nothing pierces the skull like it would with a knife wound, so the damage happens underneath and can be hard to see. The brain shifts around inside the skull, and that sudden movement can bruise brain tissue, tear blood vessels, and cause swelling.
It’s not always dramatic. Sometimes, it looks like just a bump or a brief daze, but even mild trauma can have serious consequences, especially if it’s not caught early. In more severe cases, the impact can lead to long-term brain injuries that affect various body functions.
How Blunt Force Trauma Affects the Brain and Body
Every head injury is different depending on the force behind the blow, the angle, and the person’s physical condition. The brain is a complicated organ, and science still doesn’t quite know everything about it, so it can be tough to predict how any given head injury will present from one person to another.
Some people lose consciousness right away.
Others stay awake and seem fine — for a while. Hours or even days later, symptoms can show up, including:
- Nausea
- Confusion
- Mood swings
- Slurred speech
- Headache
- Memory loss
- Sensitivity to light or sound
- Blurred vision
- Seizures
One peculiar effect of head trauma is a clear fluid that drains from the nose or ears. It’s easy to pass this off as just a runny nose, but it’s actually cerebrospinal fluid. When the skull is damaged, this fluid (which surrounds your brain and spinal cord) can leak out from where it’s supposed to be. Left untreated, a CSF leak can lead to dangerous complications.
Blunt Force Isn’t Always Accidental
Not every instance of blunt force trauma comes from a random accident. Sometimes, it happens because someone else was careless — like a distracted driver, a business that ignored a safety hazard, or a property owner who skipped basic upkeep.
In those cases, the injury didn’t have to happen, and that can be hard to accept. People get hurt because someone else didn’t do what they were supposed to do. When a head injury is involved, this kind of negligence can lead to lifelong problems with physical, emotional, and financial recovery.
Why the Effects Go Beyond the Injury
It’s easy to think of head trauma as just a medical issue, but that’s only part of the picture. A blunt force head injury can unravel a person’s entire routine. Relationships change. Jobs are lost. Bills pile up. In Charleston, where community and routine matter, these disruptions hit especially hard.
People don’t just need doctors to treat their injuries. They need answers about who’s responsible for their condition. They need support systems and solutions. And they need someone to make sure their voice gets heard when they’re too overwhelmed to speak up for themselves.
More Than Just an Injury
There’s no quick fix when it comes to blunt force trauma to the head. These injuries are complicated, and the fallout can affect every part of someone’s life. Knowing how these injuries happen and what they can really do to a person is the first step toward getting accountability.
Contact the Personal Injury Law Firm of Mani Ellis & Layne Accident & Injury Lawyers for Help Today
For more information, please contact an experienced lawyer at Mani Ellis & Layne Accident & Injury Lawyers to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have convenient locations in Columbus, OH, and Charleston, WV.
Mani Ellis & Layne Accident & Injury Lawyers – Columbus, OH Office
20 E Broad St Suite 1000, Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 587-8423
Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 39.96270905583009, -82.99956356191063
Mani Ellis & Layne Accident & Injury Lawyers – Charleston, WV Office
10 Hale St Suite 501, Charleston, WV 25301
(304) 720-1000
Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 38.348382927211865, -81.635109451865